What Is Our Purpose?

This semester, Tascha and I have the opportunity to attend a class called Perspectives (http://www.perspectives.org). Over the next 14 weeks, we will learn and discuss what missions is, the history of missions, and learn about current missions from missionaries serving all over the world! This past week we were asked to give our elevator speech. “If you had 60 seconds to present the gospel to someone, what would you say?” We got into groups and discussed things we would say. Some said the would talk about John 3:16 and elaborate on the great love God has for us. Others said they would concentrate on our sinful nature and that we need Jesus to bridge the gap between us and God. While we were discussing what we would say, II Corinthians 5:18 came to mind. “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” 

To me, this, and the previous verse, is a missionary theme passage. II Corinthians 5:17 talks about how we are a new creation in Christ. In verse 18, we are reconciled (restored) to God through Christ and we are all called to restore others to God through Christ. This is our purpose as Christians: to invite non-believers into a restoring relationship with Christ, making them a new creation in Christ and allowing them to experience the perfect love of our Savior. This is my goal. Whether at work, in my neighborhood, or overseas, my aim is the share the love of Christ with everyone. The boldness and power to do so comes from Christ (I Timothy 1:7-8a) so we have nothing to fear! 

Below is a video about Perspectives 

God's Timing

First of all, I just want to say that Jeff usually writes our blogs and does a wonderful job. He is much better at writing than I am and enjoys keeping up with our blog. However, I (Tascha) have been feeling like God wants me to share how He is working in my life during this time of Homeland Ministry Assignment. While this time has sent me on a roller coaster of emotions, God is teaching me so much. Yes, there are many good days where I am so excited about what God has called us to do in Kenya, and I am often encouraged by friends, family, and even people we do not know by their kind words and actions. There are also the hard days, where I start to feel overwhelmed by all that we have going on, discouraged when we are not seeing the progress we would like, or even frustrated by how long the process takes. God is definitely using this time to work in my life, and I want to share with you a couple of things He has been teaching me lately.

1. Faith- God is teaching me to fully trust and rely on Him. Sure, leaving everything and everyone we know and moving to Kenya requires a lot of faith. Surprisingly though, that is not what I am struggling with. I would love to hop on a plane today and fly on over to Kenya. It is the day to day things, the details, that I am having trouble trusting God for. When I look at our ministry account, I find myself thinking, “How in the world are we ever going to raise all that money?” When Jeff and I need to take off yet another week of work for speaking or training I worry, “How long until one of us has to quit our job? How will we pay the bills?” However, time and time again God has shown up and provided for all of our needs. He is teaching me that instead of worrying about these details, I should trust Him for direction and provision. I have heard it said that God does not call the equipped, but instead He equips the called. I believe this to be true, so I know that He will prepare us in all ways for the mission field. I also need to trust God’s perfect timing. Which leads me to the next way that He is working on me! 

  2. Patience- This is another area in my life that I am currently struggling with. God has blessed me with a good deal of patience when it comes to children. Being a teacher and constantly being around children requires this patience. However, when it comes to other things, honestly I am not the most patient person. I have the type of personality where I like to get stuff done and make things happen. I do not like to sit around and wait for everything to work itself out. So, I start to get impatient with the amount of time it is taking us to complete our Bible courses we are enrolled in, or the fact that our support is not rolling in. I have a hard time waiting to hear back from churches that show interest in our ministry, or waiting for individuals to respond to newsletters, emails, calls, or messages. I want so badly to get to Africa, that I sometimes lose sight of the fact that God has us here in the U.S. right now for a purpose. I don’t want to miss out on all that He wants us to do here and now, while we are waiting for His timing to move to Africa. These are just a couple of the ways that God is working in my life so far during HMA. I came across this verse and it has been an encouragement to me. I pray that it will be to you as well. 

  Hebrews 6:10-12 “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, so that what you hope for may be fully realized. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” G

  Prayer requests: 
- Pray that God would continue to move people to get involved in our ministry. 
- Pray for the people of Kenya and the missionaries already serving there. 
- Pray for Jeff and me as we will be the camp missionaries at Mt. Hope Bible Camp in Ohio July 21-27.

"Am I Making A Difference"

“Is what I’m doing making a difference?” I ask myself this question a lot and I’m sure some of you do as well. I know that I am created for something more than myself, but is the way I am spending my time really making a difference in the world? James 1:27 says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

If I were to paraphrase this verse, I would say “A relationship with God that is genuine entails looking after the broken and hurting and guarding yourself against losing focus on what’s important.” We are all created for relationships; primarily a relationship with our Creator. We love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19) and out of that love for Christ comes our love for one another. This is when the caring for the broken, hurting, homeless, orphans, widows, etc. comes into play without us even having to really think about it. This is what Tascha and I are called to do in Kenya.

The second half of this verse is the hard part though. “Keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” Think about it. The movies and TV shows we watch, the music we listen to, the people we are around. There are a ton of things in this world buying for our attention and if we are not careful, they will win us over and distract us and could permanently pull us away from what God has called each and every one of us to do: love the least of these.

Over the next week, take inventory of what you watch, listen to and the type of people you hang around. If what you are spending your time listening to, watching or doing is not honoring to God (or you wouldn't do it if He were physically standing next to you), then I challenge you to find something that is pleasing to God. This might be listening to Christian radio, not watching things with vulgarity or sexual scenes, or maybe even making some new friends. I guarantee you, your relationship with Christ will improve and so will your focus on what is really important. 

A Lesson in Faith

"Faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen. " - Hebrews 11:1

                Faith is something many people struggle to define. A youth pastor friend of mine said that "Faith was what we do form the time we hear God speak until the next time we hear Him speak." God has called Tascha and I to go to Africa. We stepped out on faith by exploring various mission organizations and God partnered us with World Gospel Mission (www.wgm.org). I have had to take off of work twice in order to go to Indiana for our interview and training and both times I have been able to. Tascha and I have some classes to take in preparation for the field and God has provided in that area as well. And this past week I explained to my boss that I was going to have to miss a week here and there this summer for Tascha and I to speak at a few camps. I had been very weary of discussing this matter with him because it is almost impossible to take vacation during the summer because it is our busiest time. But I knew that God had called Tascha and I to go to Kenya and that He would make a way. My boss heard me out and we worked it out so that I would be able to miss the weeks needed this summer!

                God has been so good to Tascha and I! No, we are not perfect, but God chose us to go to Kenya to serve the sick, the brokenhearted, the hungry, and the hurting. He equips those He calls and is faithful in His calling. I may not know how we are going to get to Kenya, or even an exact date, but I do know who we are going with, and through Him, we can do all things!

An Introduction

            It was October 2008 and Fall Break was here! The Well, an interdenominational campus ministry that Tascha and I were a part of at East Tennessee State University, was going to John's Island, South Carolina to work with Habitat for Humanity. We both love to serve, so we signed up and spent our Fall Break with our friends at the Well building a house for a family outside of Charleston.

            I will always remember that trip. Not only for getting to serve, leading worship on the beach, or witnessing my brother-in-law's baptism in the ocean, but because it was the beginning of something amazing! You see, that mission trip was the first one Tascha and I did together. We had both been on various trips prior, but none together.

            Over the past few years, we have been on and led various trips together. However, this past summer, we reached another milestone in our marriage: our first international mission trip. When we got married (August 2010), I promised Tasch I would take her to Africa (I went to Kenya while we were dating), but I didn't know when that would happen, or even if it would happen. Well, God has a sense of humor. In January 2012, we were given the opportunity to go to Uganda to work with orphans through Sozo Children (www.sozochildren.org). I was very excited, but was also somewhat anxious and nervous. But we serve an awesome God! Tascha and I were in the zone while serving in Uganda! I remember thinking to myself, "Man, this is what I was made to do. This is what she was made to do. This is what we were created to do together!" It was on this trip that God called us to full time missions.

            Once we got back to Alabama (where we lived at the time), we began to pray and seek the Lords guidance. We applied to World Gospel Mission (who I went to Kenya through in 2008), went to Marion, Indiana for our interview, and were accepted in December 2012 to the  missionary disciple (MD) program and were assigned to Kenya! We are excited to see what God is going to do in us and through us in this new chapter of our lives!